The tremor spread outward, nearly blowing Lam Huy Trường away.
He had to cling tightly to the two red crystal spikes protruding from the "little snake's" head to avoid being swept away.
What now?
Dropping to one knee, LHT tightened his grip on the crystals and forced himself to look against the raging wind.
A scene he had witnessed while experiencing Professor X's memories suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Don't tell me...
Red lightning erupted everywhere before seemingly flowing back toward the crimson pillar of light.
Shrill screams echoed through the air.
They sounded like something that didn't belong in this world.
LHT had no idea whether the "little snake" could endure it.
But he could feel one thing clearly.
It was trembling.
A strange sensation rose within him.
As if some vague connection existed between him and this colossal monster.
I seriously hope that skill I got when I transmigrated doesn't screw me over.
Don't suddenly disconnect because of a weak signal or something.
I'm literally sitting on top of a giant monster.
If the little guy gets hungry and tosses me into its mouth, I'm dead.
The wind continued to howl.
The piercing noises gradually faded.
The shockwave seemed to have ended as well.
LHT cautiously opened his eyes and looked down.
The crimson pillar had shrunk.
It looked as though something was being born inside it.
Then the red glow slowly dimmed.
Until it vanished completely.
Amid the drifting smoke and ruins below, a figure gradually emerged.
From time to time, streaks of red lightning crawled across the silhouette hidden within the haze.
LHT silently prayed.
Dear gods of this world.
I haven't done anything bad.
Please don't let anything bad show up.
And then...
Slowly, a figure resembling an angel appeared within the smoke.
Long white hair flowed down her back, its soft curls dancing in the wind.
Two pairs of black wings spread wide behind her, identical to those of a fallen angel.
A black staff with a radiant golden orb floated beside her.
Above her head hovered a crown.
It reflected nothing.
As though it had been forged from darkness itself.
The crown drifted above her head, rising and falling like waves upon a dark sea.
Her skin was pale from head to toe.
Not ordinary pale.
It was a shade of white so lifeless that it seemed devoid of vitality.
She wore a seamless black dress, as though she were about to attend a grand ballroom party.
Her head remained lowered.
The space around her...
Warped and stretched, as if someone were blowing invisible bubbles into reality itself.
Then she tilted her head slightly.
Slowly, she raised her gaze toward the sky.
Her crimson eyes blinked softly, as though searching for sunlight.
But there was no sun.
Only the endless rain pouring down from above.
The rainfall grew heavier.
The wind became fiercer.
LHT remained frozen, staring at the scene before him.
And at the girl with the black wings.
Then, without warning, a dark red notification window slammed into his face.
A notification window that had been distorted for a very long time.
But now...
It looked like a drunkard who had just been doused with an entire barrel of sobering medicine.
The text became clearer than ever before.
And the moment LHT read it—
His heart tightened.
Lines of text appeared before his eyes.
[Evolution Progress: ??..dqwf..sagqge..gq%] - [Error: Unabl..e to Dete..rmi..ne]
[Rank Level: ?????]
[Conf..irm..ing inco..mplete evoluti..on stat..us of B.o...ss.]
[Hidde...n missio..n to preve...nt Boss fr..om co..mpleting ..evoluti...on pro.cess ha..s been... d..asfas...Er.. sa..or...fag...awgawg. Er...ro..r]
[W...arn..ing: Bo...ss is e..ntering comb...at state dsad...safsa...fas.]
[...Erhfgtrtro..r].[Er..r.or][.Err..ohgffr.][Err.or]..[..Erro.k.j.hjfgjfr][Er......]
---
Kai opened his eyes.
Pain surged through every part of his body.
He pressed a hand against his forehead, struggling to clear his mind.
The events from earlier quickly returned.
He and Lyra had been blasted off the Carpet Vehicle by the shockwave like two falling leaves.
Even as they plummeted hundreds of meters toward the ground, he had held tightly onto her hand.
At the same time, he teleported both of them to a location within his line of sight.
Somewhere safer.
But after that...
He couldn't remember what he had crashed into.
A ruined building?
Or some random exposed toilet?
His head throbbed violently.
Several strands of purple aura still lingered around his hand.
He had probably survived thanks to the sword's protective aura.
Even so, minor injuries had been unavoidable.
But what about Lyra?
He immediately shouted,
"Lyra? Are you here?"
His legs hurt so badly that they nearly gave out beneath him.
"Damn it."
Gritting his teeth, Kai forced himself back to his feet.
At that moment, a faint voice echoed from another corner of the ruined structure.
Kai immediately ran toward the sound.
He stumbled repeatedly over broken bricks and debris as he rushed forward.
There.
A girl was sitting against a wall, breathing heavily.
Blood ran down her arm, staining an entire sleeve crimson.
Kai quickened his pace and hurried to her side.
"Are you okay?"
Lyra looked up at him.
Her eyes were blurred with pain.
She bit her lip.
She wanted to say she was fine.
But tears kept streaming down her face.
"I'm okay... I'm fine."
Her voice trembled.
"My arm's just... a little broken from the impact."
Even after saying that, she forced out a smile, as if trying to swallow all of her pain and keep it hidden.
Then she tilted her head slightly, gesturing in another direction.
Kai followed her gaze.
The Flying Carpet was hanging from a tree branch, swaying in the wind.
Lyra spoke again.
"It's fine. But the watch you lent me is broken, so I can't call it down anymore."
Kai glanced at her blood-soaked left arm.
"Don't worry about it. As long as you're okay."
"As for the vehicle... forget it."
The moment he said those words, he felt a little guilty toward the late captain who had entrusted it to him.
But if the captain were here...
He would probably say the same thing.
Kai knelt in front of Lyra and carefully examined her injuries.
Lyra continued smiling, pretending everything was fine.
Meanwhile, Kai's expression grew increasingly grim.
Then he raised his head and looked toward the place where the crimson pillar of light had disappeared.
Everything was strangely quiet now.
Yet that silence brought no sense of safety.
Quite the opposite.
It made him even more uneasy.
"Do you think that monster is gone?"
Lyra asked softly.
Meanwhile, Kai had already walked toward a corner of the ruined building and was rummaging through whatever remained inside.
"I don't know."
"But how long have we been unconscious?"
"If it really disappeared, that'd be great."
Kai kicked aside a twisted metal door.
Then he crouched beside a nearby cabinet.
Lyra glanced once more at the Flying Carpet dangling from the tree.
"If only I were better at controlling it..."
Just then—
A figure sat down in front of her, blocking her view.
Kai was holding a dented first-aid kit.
A few rolls of bandages were still visible inside.
"Thank goodness. There's still something usable in here."
Lyra looked at him in surprise.
"What?"
Kai said without looking up, his hands already treating her wound.
He looked almost like a real doctor caring for a patient.
"Try to bear with the pain."
Lyra stared blankly for a few seconds.
Then she nodded.
Until...
Her traitorous arm suddenly swung upward on its own.
SMACK!
It landed squarely across Kai's face right as he was focused on treating her injury.
---- [Author: Two Thousand years ago.~~]
"Uh... Kai, sorry..."
Lyra bit her fingernail, her face burning with embarrassment as she mumbled an apology.
Her injured arm had already been wrapped in bandages and secured in a sling across her chest.
She looked much better now.
"Ah... it's okay."
Kai replied.
Five bright red finger marks were still clearly visible on one side of his face.
He rubbed his stinging cheek.
"There's still some pain medication left."
As he spoke, he tossed a blister pack toward Lyra.
"Thanks."
Kai stood up.
His expression suddenly turned serious.
"Alright. You need to find somewhere safe now."
He paused briefly before correcting himself.
"No... you need to get as far away from here as possible."
Kai looked directly at Lyra.
He knew her personality all too well from their days in the same class.
Just from her actions earlier, he could already tell.
She would definitely come up with some excuse to prove she was fine.
Then throw herself right back into danger.
Lyra said nothing.
Kai took that as agreement.
He turned and started walking away.
But then Lyra's voice called out from behind him.
"I don't want to stay out of this."
Kai didn't turn around.
Nor did he respond.
Yet Lyra continued.
"I don't want to stand by helplessly while the people I care about suffer."
"So... at least let me watch this battle."
"I promise I'll protect myself."
"And I won't recklessly throw myself into danger."
Kai remained silent.
He continued walking toward the Flying Carpet hanging from the tree.
A black sword appeared in his hand.
With a single smooth motion—
He drew the blade.
Then sheathed it again so quickly that it was almost impossible to see.
A slash flashed through the air.
The Flying Carpet immediately dropped from the branch and hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Kai walked over to inspect it.
Fortunately, the vehicle was still intact.
It looked usable.
He placed a hand on the control panel and entered several commands.
The word "On" appeared.
The vehicle immediately began transforming, folding and rearranging itself until it returned to its original rugged ATV Robo form.
Kai gently ran a hand over the handlebars.
Then climbed onto the vehicle.
He glanced back at Lyra, who was still standing there in a daze.
After letting out a long sigh, he called out,
"If you want a ride, hurry up."
Lyra blinked in surprise.
Then a smile spread across her face.
She hurried over and climbed onto the ATV Robo behind him.
The engine roared to life.
A few seconds later—
The two of them vanished into the distant haze of smoke and dust.